Solar Powered Strawberry Pickers: Efficient, Sustainable, and Comfortable
Many people look forward to strawberry season every year, with its mountains of mouth-watering red fruit. But if you own a strawberry farm and are responsible for picking, you know how much of a headache (or, should I say, a backache) the season can be.
Strawberry picking is back-breaking labor. Hunching over the low plants for an hour isn’t so bad, but when you do it all day, the pain is unbearable.
But there’s a better way!
At Harvest Pro, we know that strawberry picking is no one’s favorite job—which is why we set out to revolutionize the industry with our solar-powered strawberry picker, the RoHand II.
Keep reading to learn about how to turn strawberry picking from a painful, dreaded task to a comfortable, doable chore.
TL;DR - Solar Powered Strawberry Pickers
- Strawberry pickers are machines designed to allow human pickers to lie on their stomachs and pick comfortably.
- Solar-powered pickers allow a worker to pick all day without needing to recharge the strawberry picker.
- Electric pickers are more practical than gas-powered pickers, especially for smaller operations.
- Solar-powered strawberry pickers have unique, innovative designs allowing for optimal comfort, productivity, and efficiency.
- Although designed for strawberries, these pickers are useful for many tasks on a small farm.
Keep reading to learn more about how solar-powered strawberry pickers work, and whether they’re the right option for your farm.
What is a Strawberry Picker, and How Does it Work?
People who aren’t familiar with strawberry farming hear “strawberry picker” and immediately think of a machine that picks berries. But machines have a hard time picking strawberries for two reasons:
- Strawberries are delicate, and machines tend to handle fruit roughly
- Machines have a difficult time distinguishing between ripe and unripe berries
That means that, except for a few cases (such as picking berries for jams and jellies), strawberries are usually picked by hand.
A strawberry picker, then, is a machine that makes it as easy and painless as possible for a human to pick strawberries.
Strawberry pickers typically feature:
- A framework on wheels that can drive over the strawberry plants without damaging them
- A pad where workers can lie flat on their stomachs to pick
- Some sort of headrest or head strap
- A place to put buckets or flats to hold picked berries
Additionally, the most comfortable, practical strawberry pickers feature:
- Fully adjustable features so that the machine fits neatly over the strawberry row, and the picker is as comfortable as possible
- A canvas shade to offer shelter from blistering sun and dripping rain
- Options for adjusting speed
- Extra storage for filled buckets or flats
These pickers come in many forms, both large and small. Keep reading to learn how solar-powered strawberry pickers differ from gas-powered versions, and which option works best for your farm.
Advantages of Using Solar Power for Strawberry Pickers
Like most power tools and equipment, there are two ways to power a strawberry picker:
- Gasoline or Diesel
Some strawberry pickers are powered by internal combustion engines. Sometimes the picker has its own engine, while other models are designed to be pulled with a tractor.
The main advantage of an internal combustion engine is its increased power—useful if you have a large farm and need a machine that can carry 4-10 workers at once.
However, if you have a smaller strawberry operation, an internal combustion engine is too much. You don’t need that much power to haul a singular person around, and with how slowly the strawberry picker travels, you’ll spend a lot of time idling and wasting gas. Furthermore, you’ll have to deal with noise, emissions, and increased maintenance.
2. Electric
For a small, single-person strawberry picker, electric is the ideal choice.
- Quiet
- Zero emissions
- Less maintenance
- A single operator can adjust the speed or idle as necessary without worrying about wasting fuel
The only downside to electric is, of course, limited battery life. But that’s where solar-powered strawberry pickers come in.
Strawberry pickers already need a cover of some kind to shade workers from the blazing sun. That cover is the ideal place for solar panels to recharge the battery, allowing your human pickers to spend an entire workday in the strawberry fields without having to stop and recharge the batteries of their picking cart.
How the RoHand II Works
One of the best solar-powered strawberry pickers on the market is Harvest Pro’s RoHand II. This small-but-mighty picker allows you to swiftly pick berries all day without worrying about sunstroke or back pain.
Here’s how it works:
The Cart
The RoHand II has a small cart frame that’s easy to maneuver through the fields. Many parts of the frame are adjustable, so you can configure it to be the exact width and height needed for your rows.
The Platform
We designed a cushioned platform for a human to lie on their belly, looking down and comfortably picking the berries below them. The platform is adjustable to accommodate various sizes and shapes of people, and is rated for up to 300 lbs. An adjustable strap keeps the head comfortable, while a front tray holds a flat or bucket to pick into.
The Controls
The RoHand II is controlled by the picker, using a foot pedal system that keeps the hands free. The pedals allow the operator to adjust the speed and direction as needed while picking.
The Canopy
A shade canopy covers the top of the RoHand II, with optional roll-down side panels in case the sun is at an angle or rain is blowing in from the side. This canopy also features solar panels that recharge the battery, allowing for all-day operation on sunny days.
Storage
Finally, we equipped the RoHand II with extra storage trays on the back. The strawberry picker is so efficient that the operator will quickly fill the flats or buckets in front of them, so it’s crucial to have additional berry receptacles on hand for uninterrupted workflow!
With the RoHand II, suddenly, strawberry season isn’t so daunting. Now you’re lying comfortably in the shade, rolling along, steering with your feet and picking with your hands. With a tumbler of sweet tea on the picking tray and yummy strawberries to snack on whenever you feel like it, a previously dreaded time becomes the season you look forward to all year!
Other Helpful Uses for Strawberry Pickers
If you have a smaller strawberry operation, you may be asking yourself, Is it worth it to spend the money on something I’ll only use for a few weeks out of the year?
Only you can answer that question honestly, based on your own farm budget. But the good news is, strawberry pickers are versatile, adjustable machines that you can use for more than just picking strawberries!
Here are some alternative uses for solar-powered strawberry pickers like the Rohand II:
- Picking asparagus
- Picking green beans
- Weeding
- Transplanting
- Pruning
And more!
Essentially, if you have to do fiddly hand work over low bushes, instead of stooping over and shuffling along, you can adjust the Rohand II to the proper width and clearance to drive over the bushes, lie flat on your stomach, and do the work that way.
(It’s also worth noting that you don’t have to purchase your equipment outright—sometimes renting is the better option. If you want to know more, we wrote a whole blog about renting harvest equipment!)
Where to Buy a Solar-Powered Strawberry Picker
If you’re looking for a solar-powered strawberry picker that is:
- Thoughtfully designed
- Easily adjusted
- Operated with the feet
- Labor saving
- Fun to use (always a perk!)
Look no further than the Rohand II from Harvest Pro!
To order your Rohand II, you have several options:
- Send us a message directly
- Give us a call
- Visit a Rohand II dealer near you
Besides our solar-powered strawberry pickers, we also offer other revolutionary time-and-energy-saving farm equipment, such as:
- A brilliantly designed chicken reaper
- Proveyor wagons that speed up harvesting
Contact us today to chat about your farm needs! We’d be delighted to help.